After much anticipation, we made it to Disneyland. This park opened in 1955 (before Disneyworld) and is home to Sleeping Beauty's castle. My favorite princess. I was surprised that Aurora's castle is a lot smaller than Cinderella's. Of course in 1955, this was a mansion and the park is located in a oversized city block.

After getting our tickets and heading into the park, we walked down Main Street, USA and saw the statue of Walt Disney and Mickey and of course the castle. Since everyone was heading into Fantasyland, we headed over to Adventureland. We rode the Jungle Cruise, Indiana Jones Adventure and saw Tarzan's Treehouse. We then headed into New Orleans Square for a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean (Captain Jack Sparrow has been added) and the Haunted Mansion. In Critter Country, we rode The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It was so cute

On to Frontierland to explore the Pirate's Liar on Tom Sawyer Island and the Mark Twain Riverboat cruise. We stopped for an early lunch at the Celebration Roundup and Barbecue at Big Thunder Ranch. We met Tex Tumbleweed, Jessie, Woody and Bullseye. The show was really cute and we enjoyed getting to see the characters.

After lunch, we went into Toontown to meet Mickey. This was a bit of a wait but you got to go through his house and then into the barn. At Minnie's house next door, she greeted you on the porch for a picture and then you got to look in her refrigerator. No surprise, cheese!

We really wanted to see a princess so we waited a long time in line at the Disney Princess Fantasy Faire. Aurora, Cinderella and Snow White were all there.

After a breather at the hotel, we headed back over to ride 'it's a small world' and Space Mountain. This was a long wait but a really cool ride and we got to see the fireworks while standing in line.

The park was busy so we headed back for souvenirs before catching the ART (Anaheim Resort Transportation) back to the hotel

. Since I couldn't decide on the Disney antenna ball, I picked up a couple. Once RC gets a wash, she will be sure to model them for you. I think we made it to the hotel before midnight (our bus didn't turn into a pumpkin).

Tomorrow will be a bit of a day off except that I have to get on the I-5 to make it to the beach. We also need to hit a grocery store and the carwash. It will be back to reality!

News from Sara:

Disneyland (DL) was amazing!!! Although it wasn't as big as Disney World (DW) (and not that I could remember anyway,) it was still awesome. We caught the second bus into DL (Mom was having issues,) :) and waited in line for tickets. We didn't get the Park Hopper tickets, which was kind of a disappointment, but there was plenty of awesome things to do in DL. We started out on the Jungle Cruise where Mother unsuccessfully tried to throw me in to the piranhas. We then headed over to the Pirates of the Caribbean ride which was really cool and then backtracked to Indy's ride which was having some technical difficulties when we passed it the first time. Then we returned to New Orleans Square and rode the Haunted Mansion (not at all like the movie, but then again none of the rides were.) By then, we had made it into Critter Country and rode the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Mom says cute, try the most amazing ride ever!! I felt like I was four again, but it was so cool to see Piglet (my favorite Hundred Acre Woods character) and Tiger and Pooh!! We even got to ride into Pooh's dream (of course there was honey) and then see Pooh's birthday party (every gift was honey.) :)!! We then went onto Tom Sawyer's island and explored the caves for awhile

. I also climbed up into Tom and Huck's treehouse. :). Afterward Mom wanted to ride the Mark Twain riverboat around the 'Rivers Of America' which turned out to be pretty fun. There were lots of creepy stuffed animals on the riverbank. heh heh. We took a break for awhile and ate a pretzel and bought our Jack Sparrow Mickey Mouse ears! (I can't even believe Mom failed to mention this!) They're kind of a rust color and they have Jack's little scarf thing wrapped around them. Of course the little bead with one of the Nine Pieces of Eight is dangling from the side. And they have our names on the back! Of course, Mom wore hers all day long, but I hate elastic so I opted not to wear them. :). We headed back over to Big Thunder Ranch for lunch and we got to meet Jessie and Woody and Bullseye! (he's my favorite.) We had a healthy ranch lunch of barbecue, beans, corn, coleslaw and cornbread. It was an all-you-can-eat, Mom and I both only took one serving. :). Afterward, we went into Toontown to meet Mickey! Mom flipped out and was like OH MY GOD! MICKEY! I think she scared the cast members. :). Then we waited in line to see Minnie (!!!). I really wanted to see the princesses, so afterward we waited in line for that. Mom's favorite princess was there, but mine neglected to show up. I had to live with Snow White. Cinderella was very polite though. We were both tired after that so we went back to the hotel for awhile. When we returned to find it busier than ever, we rode it's a small world and saw the pretty pink eiffel tower and the high-kicking french girls. :). Then we rode Space Mountain which I had been looking forward to all day. :)! Mom was a little freaked, but we both really liked it. The picture was amazing. :)! Then we sat down in Main Street, USA for a little almost-midnight snack. Mom got a hot dog and I got a Mickey-shaped pretzel! We waited there for awhile for a few people to leave and then checked out a few of the shops and bought some souvenirs. By then, it was about 11:30 and we finally headed back to the hotel. Off to the beach tomorrow!! :)!

Comments

Are you half way yet? It sounds (looks) like you're having the time of your lives! I am so glad. So when will you be at your half way point? Be careful in LA, it's not the safest place. I am really enjoying keeping up with you're adventure. I can't wait to see more!!
Thanks for including all of us.
Stay safe,
Anne

You have a great travel blog Hi Debbie and Sara, you guys are lookin good in all the photos and are taking some great pictures for all of us to enjoy. I hope your travels are as fun as they look! Debbie, anything is better than being on Cummings Dr., huh! When I was in CA, I loved Carmel and Monterey. Are you going North? Have a wonderful adventure and know you are being watched

Hi Micky and Minnie OMG!! I am cracking up here. Debbie - you look so cute with your Jack Sparrow Micky hat. I was trying to picture you wearing your hat when you called but nothing like I had imagined. It's much better. I'm so happy you guys are having a great time, smile on your faces say it all...........